Effective March 1st, 2008, AA won't offer elite status bonuses on BA flights. If an AA codeshare, there is no change. It doesn't look like the bonus changes with any other One World members as of right now:

Another cheap devaluing of the product. AA knows that their product is just no match for BA's, especially up front, and thus they know that if they give their members the ability to get status bonuses on BA - especially if they are about to allow AAdvantage earn/burn across the Atlantic ex-London - nobody will fly AA any more!

Real smart strategy, AA: limit the amount of places you fly to in Europe under the guise that you are strategically choosing to distribute passengers across Europe via codeshares, but then take away one of the only major incentives left for your customers to book with you and your codeshare partners versus other U.S. airlines that can get them to their European destination nonstop!

I'm starting to think that AA's management just enjoys giving Trans-Atlantic business to Delta and Continental.

AA's product across the Atlantic is still superior to CO and DL's (they actually still have 3-class aircraft making the hop), and that will only improve with a solidified post-open skies alliance with BA. Not to mention that oneworld incentives are still much better than Star Alliance or SkyTeam, and AA rewards are much easier to redeem than CO or DL's.

But I don't see how this matters if AA members can't earn medallion miles on BA. If I'm a biz traveler paying attention to my requalification, I just requested a status match and moved my business to Skyteam (AF and KL give me the same connections) or Star Alliance (same for Lufthansa).

Quoting Ssides (Reply 2):Not to mention that oneworld incentives are still much better than Star Alliance or SkyTeam

What are the better incentives?

Quoting Ssides (Reply 2):AA rewards are much easier to redeem than CO or DL's.

Based on? I don't have data that proves the converse but I had struggled for 2 years to dump my AA miles on flights to Europe that I finally just transferred them to Hilton Honors. Amazingly, Delta was a walk in the park to book a trip.

Quoting Ssides (Reply 2):AA's product across the Atlantic is still superior to CO and DL's (they actually still have 3-class aircraft making the hop)

No doubt about it, but saying that AA's product to London is better than CO or DL isn't saying much when compared with BA, which is pretty much at the top of global airlines in terms of onboard product and service levels. Measured against that yardstick (and, indeed, that is the opportune yard stick as AA and BA are pretty much the biggest players from the U.S. to London, along with Virgin), AA's offerings are pretty embarrassing.

Quoting Ssides (Reply 2):that will only improve with a solidified post-open skies alliance with BA

I agree with that - there really isn't anywhere for AA's product to go but up, since it has been so cut back in the last six years. I am hopeful that perhaps AA may in the near future begin to restore some of what has been cut.

Quoting Ssides (Reply 2):AA rewards are much easier to redeem than CO or DL's.

Again I agree, however, at some point, the question must be asked: if AA continues to insist on sending all of its Europe-bound customers not going to major cities onto BA codeshare connections over London, while CO and DL can get them to said cities nonstop, and AA is now reducing the incentive for people to book with AA and said codeshares, what really benefit is there now to flying AA to Europe? Now, I have argued at length with others here on A.net about the divergent AA vs CO/DL strategies regarding Europe: and I stand by what I have said in the past, that neither is better or worse, just different. I am not suggesting that AA become DL and starting adding flights to just about every landing strip east of the Prime Meridian that can handle a 757 or 767. However, AA is going to have to do a bit better than reducingFF incentives if they are going to be able to continue to convince their loyal customers to take connections over Heathrow (and we all know how fun that can be) when they could be going right to their final destination on competitors.

Well that sucks....
Surely all AA needs to do is say that you dont get miles on BA flights across the atlantic to North America. That way people will still need to travel on AA to get the miles on competing flights and other BA flights are still avaiable for Elite Status Bonus...

I personally feel the two airlines are a million miles apart in terms of service and they always will be, because air travel in the US is like catching a bus, except more stressful!

I arrive at ORD changing to a first class AA onward flight and find that as a One world emerald, I have to buy a drink in the lounge, which is like getting into Alcatraz in the first place. You lucky buggers get to go in the BA First lounge for onward connections in London and quaff free champagne like it's going out of fashion.

I think AA and US airlines in general need to take a long hard look at the rest of the world and realise that other people are giving consumers a much pleasanter experience and with cross fertilization of FF schemes, the true flyers will soon go elsewhere: $ 4000 for a JFK-LHR ticket on both AA in that 'new' dreadful 1990s throwback J Class or BA's Club World, especially when you will eventually earn points too?

I wonder why this decision was made. I'm not so sure it was a AA decision alone, BA could have been a factor as well.

Quoting JonnyWishbone (Reply 6):I think AA and US airlines in general need to take a long hard look at the rest of the world and realise that other people are giving consumers a much pleasanter experience

Too bad, get over it. I have a feeling that this is where the airline industry is heading worldwide with time...

Quoting 44k (Reply 8):Too bad, get over it. I have a feeling that this is where the airline industry is heading worldwide with time...

In a way, I agree, but at the end of the day, when you pay top dollar for a flight, you expect a certain level of service both on and off the ground, something I never feel I get when you compare a 'legacy' american airline to an Asian airline or BA.

You pay 30 bucks to fly anywhere, you takes your choice and live with your decision, it's not that dissimilar on our beloved Ryanair!

Quoting Ssides (Reply 2):AA's product across the Atlantic is still superior to CO and DL's

- didn't quite notice that. But AA is absolutely unique in F/As being rude and unfriendly, even to kids. Had similar experience only in old Soviet SU (on flights with crews from outside Latvia - Latvians were "Europe" even by then, so my first intra-US flight experience, with AA, was quite a shocking downgrade ).

- you can't talk about "difference in service" while "service" can be applied only to one of them .

Quoting JonnyWishbone (Reply 6):AA and US airlines in general need to take a long hard look at the rest of the world

- well, as for UA, DL, CO - they are just pretty average, nothing outstanding, but not bad at all - I'd even take any of them rather than LH (based not only on my experience with the latter). But, overall, I hope they will have to "take a long hard look" with open skies.

C'mon, yo... we here adore that ol' good European stuff (however, European cars, still better than average lousy American ones, are getting worse from value-for-price point... quite a disappointment! Happily, we have third player, Japan - by far No 1 by all measures. But then, aren't Asian airlines bettter too ?)

This is a blessing in disguise. BA and AA frequent fliers currently cannot earn miles on routes where the two compete. This is the first step towards changing this, and while it is a shame that we won't be able to get the extra few thousand miles, I'll still take BA over AA.

Quoting Commavia (Reply 1):Real smart strategy, AA: limit the amount of places you fly to in Europe under the guise that you are strategically choosing to distribute passengers across Europe via codeshares

BA probably have a hand in it. If not all the hand. My understanding is that the miles earned on partners are at the whim of that airline, this is why you see anomalies in miles earning tables. BMI Diamond Club members earn 3x miles on the majority of Star Alliance carriers in First, yet SQ is only 2x.

Either way if you look at it from the other side of the coin, BA elites don't earn any elite bonuses unless flying QF or BA.

Quoting Albird87 (Reply 5):Surely all AA needs to do is say that you dont get miles on BA flights across the atlantic to North America.

Errr, hate to break it to you but they don't. AA members can earn BA miles on flights between London and Canada/Mexico but not USA.

Quoting JonnyWishbone (Reply 6):I arrive at ORD changing to a first class AA onward flight and find that as a One world emerald, I have to buy a drink in the lounge

That shouldn't be the case. For one, at ORD you should have used the Flagship Lounge with its open bar, and as a oneworld Emerald (you've mentioned you're a BA Gold before) they should give you drinks chits if you go to Admirals Clubs.

Eh? *A Gold is only roughly equivalent to oneworld Sapphire (I don't know enough about Skyteam). As a Star Alliance Gold and oneworld Emerald myself I get greatly improved benefits flying on oneworld airlines than I do within Star Alliance.

As a BA Gold I get to use First Class checkin internationally, use of First Class lounges flying oneworld, use of BA lounges even when I'm not flying oneworld...plus other niceties like massages at LHR/JFK when flying longhaul etc etc.

I don't get any of that as a *A Gold. Admittedly *A Gold can get some of these and other good benefits but only if you're LH Hon Circle, SQ PPS Solitaire and that is only a very small percentage of *Gs. To rub salt in the wound at major hubs I'd say only a handful of *A Gold lounges come close to even the most average oneworld Business Class lounge. Compare a UA RCC at ORD with any of the Terraces at LHR, or the Wing at HKG...light years apart.

Quoting RIX (Reply 10):But AA is absolutely unique in F/As being rude and unfriendly, even to kids.

A gross generalisation. With so many thousands of FAs to label any airline as having rude and unfriendly FAs is crass at best. I've had some of the very best FAs I've had on any flight onboard AA, and I've flown BA in every class of service from UK Domestic to Concorde. I've had some rude, unfriendly and uninterested FAs on every carrier I've flown....except Liat!

- I had enough flights with both to have my opinion, man. I don't want to go to details what exactly happened each time I refer to. But it was worth to be called unique. You had nice experience with one airline and bad with another, and vice versa - me too. But what I'm talking about is exactly what I mean. Having flown with about 30 airlines, having some quite negative experience with many of them, I still know what I mean when I say what I say about that particular one. Still, I would fly with them again, no black lists for me - just because I don't generalize.